Highland Shifter (MacCoinnich Time Travel) by Catherine Bybee Read Free Book Online

so she poured more wine. “If you decided to stay, how is it I found you in 2011?”
    “You didn ’t. You found me in 1596.”
    Whisky. There had to be at least half a bottle somewhere. Helen shifted back to her cupboard and opened it wide. There it was. A few years ago, she’d had a boyfriend who liked Canadian whisky. Thank God .
    The eyes of the man who called himself Simon followed her around the kitchen as she found a clean glass. Glancing at him, she went ahead and grabbed a second glass. After pouring the amber liquid, she handed him a drink, which he took with a nod.
    Still he said nothing. It was as if he was giving her time to digest everything. Only offering answers to the questions she asked.
    1596. “I guess that answers the questions about the men in costumes swinging their swords.”
    In a strange way, the time travel explanation sat easier on her mind than Simon being a thirty-year-old kilted man. Scratch that, naked man. She was about to ask what happened to his clothes, but didn ’t think she’d like his answer.
    The whisky burned the back of her throat.
    “If you decided to stay back in time, why are you here now?”
    Simon narrowed his eyes. “That is a very good question, lass. One only you hold the answer to.”
    “I don’t have any answers. I didn’t think time travel was possible until today.”
    “So you believe me?”
    Helen barked out a laugh. “Sure. Why not? This is all probably some crazy dream, and I’ll wake up tomorrow in Scotland with a hangover.”
    “I understand why you ’d wish that. But tomorrow you’ll wake here in California. The hangover is a possibility if you continue to drink the rest of that bottle.”
    Licking her lips, Helen felt some of the sizzling buzz generated by Simon ’s presence start to numb. The threat of a hangover didn’t deter her from lifting the glass to her lips again. A hangover sounded better than dealing with time travel sober.
    “You think I ’m the reason you’re here?”
    “You were searching for me, right?”
    “I was.”
    “Then you are the reason I’m here. What you and I need to discover is how you shifted time so I can return to my family.”
    His family? Was he married? Did he have children of his own?
    He finished his drink and set his glass to the side.
    “I ’m not sure I can help you.”
    “No need to worry about it tonight. We ’ll think more clearly in the morning.”
    In the morning? Did he think he was going to sleep in her apartment? She didn ’t even know this guy.
    “Listen, I don ’t know if it’s a good idea for you to stay here.”
    “You ’re safe with me.” Simon walked around the couch and propped up one of the throw pillows for him to use.
    “I don ’t even know you.”
    “That is changing with every minute. Besides, if you have no idea how you shifted time, there ’s no way for you to stop it from happening again. Facing those Highland warriors again, alone, might not have such a pleasant outcome.”
    Helen grimaced and finished the contents of her glass.
    “I’ll find you an extra blanket.”
    * * * *
    A mild headache greeted Helen in the early morning hours. When she rolled over in her own bed, not the one costing her over a hundred dollars a day in Scotland, she couldn’t deny the events of the previous day.
    If the wound on her leg hadn ’t reminded her of medieval men and their massive broadswords, the huge doorstop of a man lying on her living room couch did. With a few words of warning not to answer the door, Helen slipped out of her apartment to find some clothes for Simon.
    His naked chest was a distraction. And for all she knew, he was a married man. Off limits. Not that she should be thinking about whether or not he had a main squeeze back in a castle somewhere—not considering the craziness her life had turned into during the past forty-eight hours. Still, she wondered.
    ****
    A pair of sweats, an extra large t-shirt, and a pair of shoes later, Helen arrived back in her